UTC Swindon students make finals of prestigious innovation competition

By Barrie Hudson - 18 November 2020

Education

A team of three Sixth Form students from UTC Swindon are one of eight finalist teams in the national Fujitsu ‘Operation Innovation’ competition.

  • The team is among eight to make the finals

    The team is among eight to make the finals

Now in its third year, Fujitsu’s ‘Operation Innovation’ seeks to help close the gap between education and employment when it comes to digital skills. 

The focus of this year’s competition is sharing expertise: It’s all about combining great ideas with complementary skills and technologies, and not limiting this expertise to just those within big companies. 

Fujitsu are looking for students to develop the next big thing, in order to solve a current challenge in society. It is a unique opportunity for teams to work together and create a bright spark of inspiration.  

UTC Swindon’s team – Oliver Kirby, Selwyn Gonsalves and Ethan Dowden, have developed a programme that will help doctors and pharmacies to move quickly and accurately, dispensing medicines and saving taxpayers and the NHS critical time and money. 

David McCormick, teacher at UTC Swindon, said: “The judges were impressed by this well-written proposal, which clearly conveyed the benefits of the idea. Very thorough considerations as to testing, timeline, and requirements – and one of the only teams to consider environmental impact! The self-evaluation demonstrated high levels of self-awareness and common sense.” 

Having reached the finals, the team will now present their idea to a panel of Fujitsu expert judges, ‘Dragon’s Den’ style. Winners will each receive a fantastic technology grand prize.  

Congratulations to Oliver, Selwyn and Ethan for reaching this stage of the competition and we wish them all the best of luck at the finals.

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